Foolish Game of the Chapter 498: It's Him!

Now it was Jiang Chi's turn to fall silent.

There were no fools at the peak level. He'd assud Poison would be wary of her own position and refrain from calling out a relationship that disadvantaged her. He was wrong.

Poison hadn't just called him out — she'd turned the question around.

Her aning was clear: whether to continue cooperating wasn't hers alone to decide. It depended on what this Jiang Chi — who'd been secretly networking between players — truly wanted.

And Jiang Chi's silence had already given the answer: he had indeed been in contact with Da Yi!

Yes — Jiang Chi and Da Yi had reached a preliminary cooperation. The deal: Jiang Chi would help Da Yi obtain the Gift of Sores, and Da Yi would promise to lend him aid soday in the future.

For Da Yi, the promise cost essentially nothing. Nobody knew whether any given player would survive to see "the future." So he'd accepted without hesitation.

He naturally knew Jiang Chi had his own calculations. But the reality of the peak circle was that you could never get soone completely on your side. So... take whatever advantage presented itself. In the end, whoever was better at exploiting the other would co out on top.

Jiang Chi did have his own sches, but Poison's exposé provoked no anger in him. He actually shot her an appreciative glance, then smiled and kept moving.

Not because his composure was unfathomable — but because Poison had accurately seized the pulse of his emotions!

What this [Corruption] Chosen "sold" to the Pointer Knight was precisely wisdom and erudition!

All that history she'd recited in the civilian house wasn't just to appease Da Yi — it was a demonstration for Jiang Chi.

She knew Jiang Chi was the type who loved working with smart people. That was why she'd dared call out his gas to his face — knowing it wouldn't embarrass him, and might even pull this partner partially away from Da Yi's orbit.

Only by doing so could she carve out even the slightest extra chance of claiming the dagger in this worst-case scenario.

Her ideal partner had been Cheng Shi, of course. But frustratingly, Cheng Shi didn't trust her — or rather, didn't dare to.

So Poison could only play it by ear. The ssage she'd left for Cheng Shi was ant to show him that "teammates" for cooperation still existed in this trial. Whether he'd accept depended on how badly the Fate Weaver coveted the Gift of Sores.

The four trudged through the blizzard for a long ti. The armory, the inn, the tavern, the mansion... following Jia Lun's guidance, they visited location after location. But the First Prince was nowhere to be found. After hours of searching, Da Yi stopped.

"Hot damn, don't let

find out you've been stringing us along!" He shook old Jia Lun violently: "Think harder! Where else could the First Prince be!?"

Jiang Chi frowned at the scene. Poison caught his expression, her eyes shifting, and she addressed old Jia Lun thoughtfully:

"You said the First Prince is a hawk. So is it possible he left the city to fight the World Destroyers?

"The Court's guards were taken by your useless emperor, but the city garrison remains. Could he have already mobilized and departed?"

Old Jia Lun shook his head frantically:

"If the garrison were battle-worthy, why would His Majesty have fled so fast?!

"The armies of other cities could still put up a fight. But Kannar's garrison had long been turned into a stepping-stone for nobles' promotions. When His Majesty fled, who knows how many noble scions he took with him. How many real fighters remain among the soldiers is anyone's guess.

"World Destroyers are no rabble. The First Prince isn't stupid either.

"I don't doubt his resolve to defend the people. I believe he'd lead troops against the Destroyers. But I don't believe he'd march out to fight those demons without first recruiting new soldiers."

Da Yi grew more agitated: "Hot damn, this doesn't work, that won't do — where IS he!?"

Jiang Chi stayed silent. Poison frowned, thought for a mont, then said:

"Stop listing places he might go. Does this First Prince have any distinguishing features? We've encountered plenty of people at those locations. By your description, many match his appearance, but you've rejected them all.

"Is there sothing more distinctive?

"At our speed, splitting up might be more efficient."

Old Jia Lun was terrified. He trembled in thought for a while, then shook his head with a bitter smile:

"The First Prince looks quite ordinary. Doesn't even resemble His Majesty much. Nothing about his face stands out.

"If there must be one royal trait — the Sin Cleansing Scars on royal family mbers are arranged in an orderly pattern, distinct from nobles and commoners alike.

"But those are hidden under clothing. You'd be better off checking faces!"

"!!!"

The instant he said this, all three perked up. Da Yi's breathing turned audibly heavy.

Poison's eyes lit up: "The Sin Cleansing Scars — those are the wounds on your backs?"

Old Jia Lun, skewered by three piercing gazes, felt as exposed as if he'd been stripped naked. He nodded quickly.

"Only royals have neatly arranged scars?

"Then does your First Prince also have three children — one boy, two girls?

"Does the First Prince's consort also bear neatly arranged scars?"

"?"

Old Jia Lun was stunned. 'They didn't know that much, yet they already knew this much? Then why keep asking?'

But this ti, before he could respond, Da Yi — having already read his expression — snatched him up and shot toward the plaza.

"It's him!"

Poison and Jiang Chi exchanged a look, declared in unison, then raced after Da Yi.

Jiang Chi ran while kicking himself: "Should've realized sooner. Since he advocates conscription, of course he'd stay near the square he built!"

Poison gave Jiang Chi an amused sidelong glance, chuckled twice, and said nothing.

The three moved fast — and they'd been near the plaza anyway. Before long, they arrived at that sa civilian house.

No one had expected fate to be this magical: the answer had been right before them from the very first mont.

Before entering the alley where the house stood, Da Yi pulled a potion from storage and poured it into old Jia Lun's mouth. He asked the sa questions one more ti. Only after receiving identical answers did he knock the old man out cold and toss him aside.

Seeing this, Poison smirked with self-deprecation:

"Da Yi, do you really need to be this cautious of ?

"I had no idea my random pick just happened to be the First Prince's hideout outside the palace."

Da Yi shot Poison a glance, ignored her, snorted, and dashed toward the house. But before he even reached the door, the [War] assassin's face transford. His copper-bell eyes went wide as he backpedaled furiously.

Poison and Jiang Chi, right behind him, hadn't spotted the problem yet. They looked up to find several silent arrows streaking straight at them.

The Chaleon!

'This [Silence] follower had set up an ambush here!?'

'How dare he!?'

'With Gongyang Jiao dead, how could he alone challenge three peak players!?'

'Did he have a death wish!?'

The three retreated into the alley to dodge the arrows. Their expressions soured further when a single thought hit them simultaneously: if a hunter dared make a last stand in front, soone behind the scenes had to be quietly weaving fate — giving him the confidence to step onto center stage!

And right now, that soone could only be...

Cheng Shi!

The Fate Weaver and the Chaleon had joined forces!

At this realization, Da Yi's face darkened, Jiang Chi's expression grew complicated, and Poison... curled her lips into a smile.

She quietly positioned herself at the rear, her voice teasing:

"What did I tell you? The little priest is hard.

"Well, this is great. The number of hunters hasn't changed, but we're one short on our side.

"So what's the plan, gentlen?"